Archived - Effert, Aryn

August 22 2009

The Honourable Tony Clement
Minister Of Industry, Science & Technology
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

The Honourable James Moore
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Ministers,

As a consumer of digital media and electronics I stand to be greatly impacted by changes to the Canadian copyright regime. I am worried that this Government may wrongly adopt the American approach to digital copyright law as evidenced by prior draft bills including Bill C-61.

It is essential that Canadian copyright laws advance consumer and creator interests by not employing an all-encompassing prohibition on the development and manufacturing of circumvention devices and technologies, commercial trade of circumvention devices and technologies, the possession and/or utilization of any device or technology that can circumvent a TPM or DRM for a non-infringing purpose or otherwise lawful activity such as fair dealing, interoperability, time and format shifting.

The Copyright Act should be amended to bring the backup copy provision into the 21st century by expanding the right to make an archival backup copy to all digital consumer products regardless of format or media.

Amendments to the Copyright Act seeking to add provisions relating to the liability of Internet intermediaries and subscriber actions should take a "notice and notice" approach that will provide the best balance between the protection of intellectual property rights and the fundamental rights of individual and academic expression.

Amendments to the Copyright Act need to ensure that statutory damages are limited and users must be protected from statutory damages if the user has good-faith to believe their actions and use of the work in question was fair and non-infringing, or if the user is engaged in purely private and non-commercial activity.

The concept of technological neutrality is paramount when considering changes to Canada’s copyright regime that will withstand the test of time. The Government must not integrate protection for specific technologies or business models into any amendments to the Copyright Act (e.g. all-encompassing prohibition of circumvention devices and technologies). Any new legislation should be technologically-neutral to maintain flexibility into the future.

To further foster innovation, creativity, competition and investment in Canada and to position Canada as a leader in the global digital economy, it is important to expand and protect the doctrine of fair dealing. As fair dealing will undoubtedly provide any new legislation with the elasticity to adapt to future business models and new forms of creativity.

In order to direct and facilitate the digitization of Canadian heritage, a clear commitment needs to be made in order to preserve the current term of copyright. A pre-determined and generally accepted public domain date must be established for the good of all Canadians and the preservation of the heritage we so proudly maintain.

Finally, I strongly believe that as a member country actively engaged in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) Canada should not allow this non-transparent trade agreement to override the democratic process and legal framework of the Canadian domestic Copyright Act. While supposedly designed to address counterfeit physical goods as well as Internet distribution and information technology, ACTA provisions may prove to over-ride any type of domestic copyright laws and negate the entire copyright reform process.

Fortunately, there remains time and opportunity for Canada to draft legislation to ensure that the rights, values and interests of all Canadians are reflected in a truly Canadian-to-the-core approach to copyright reform. I am encouraged by the public consultations on copyright that the Government is engaged in and I am confident that this will open up the development of Canadian copyright policy to more than just traditional lobby groups and the corporate interests that have directed policies in the past.

Sincerely,
Aryn Effert

As an addition to this letter I would like to bring to light the provisions that Canada has already put into place banning the viewing of various video and streaming music online. Due to the legal ramifications many websites do not allow streaming to Canadian consumers, unfortunately these legal sites for which the video is posted free are effective in preventing further copyright infringement.

Sites such as NBC.com where a television show might be watched there instead of through a cable companies channel guide. Sites such as this offer consumers an opportunity to enjoy their shows at a time which is convenient to them, as well as to those who do not have a television. Being of the younger generation I did not own a television for years as i was able to watch shows via my computer. I have since purchased a TV for the sole purpose of using it as an additional monitor for my computer.

I would much prefer to be able to watch a legally streamed video offered by the network sponsoring the program than either wait for the DVD to be available or find a copy. Either from someone who recorded it onto VHS or DVD, or through the internet as a streamed online video at an invalid/illegal site.

I do not pay for cable or satellite service as I do not have the time to dedicate to a set show time, nor am I going to re-arrange my life style to account for the static and sometimes outrageous times that a show is being aired.

I also will not purchase an entire hard-format CD when I find that much of the music being produced by an artist has been manipulated by the label into something that is not enjoyable. Apple is going in the right direction with iTunes, however I would like to see the Canadian government allow for ingenuity from it's constituents to allow for an option where artists receive a larger portion of the sales then they currently do through iTunes and other such programs.

Please allow for these sites to legally stream music and or shows into Canada, as a believer in payment for talent/hard work I would like to support the actors/actresses and singers via their networks/labels. I strongly feel that by allowing users to stream the digital media legally and having the site funded by advertisements or for-purchase downloads both the government, companies and users will reach a happy medium.

Aryn Effert
Edmonton
Alberta

cc: Marc Garneau — Official Opposition Critic For Industry, Science & Technology

cc: Pablo Rodriguez — Official Critic For Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

cc: Charlie Angus — NDP Digital Affairs Critic